Introduction A number of genes have been associated to the development of schizophrenia, several of which are involved in central nervous system development. It has also been suggested that exposure to viral infections during early life increases the risk for later developing schizophrenia. In this study we investigate if an early postnatal infection by influenza A/WSN/33 virus in mice can cause changes in the expression of genes, including genes associated with schizophrenia, in the brain during development and if the early life infection affect the behavior in adult mice. In addition to wild type mice, an immunodeficient strain (Tap1-/-) was included in the study to model the potential influence of a genetic immune dysfunction.